Modern Family Stars Who Have Sadly Died

Television has churned out a seemingly endless stream of sitcoms featuring families — some iconic, most long since forgotten. In recent years, a series came along that cleverly and creatively reimagined what a family sitcom could be, ABC's "Modern Family." Debuting in 2009 and running for 11 hit seasons, the series followed the multigenerational adventures of the three very different families: Jay Pritchett (Ed O'Neill) and far-younger wife Gloria (Sofia Vergara), her son Manny (Rico Rodriguez) and the son they had together, Joe (Pierce Wallace and Jeremy Maguire); Jay's daughter, Claire (Julie Bowen), her husband Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell), and their three kids, Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter), and Luke (Nolan Gould); and Jay's son Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), and his husband Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet), along with their adopted daughter, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons). 

Over the course of 250 episodes — and, let's not forget, 22 Emmy wins — viewers followed the exploits of the Pritchetts, the Dunphys and the Pritchett-Tuckers. As one of television's hottest series, "Modern Family" had its pick of guest stars, an eclectic and star-studded list that ranged from Nathan Lane, to Barbra Streisand, to Kevin Hart, to Jesse Eisenberg, to Edward Norton.

Sadly not every actor who appeared on the show is still with us.

Ray Liotta appeared in a 2016 episode of "Modern Family," titled "Playdates." In the episode, Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) cashes in the "Uncle Mitchell's Birthday Funday" coupon that the Dunphy kids gave him for his birthday, leading to a hunt for Barbra Streisand's house; because the map of stars' homes is out of date, they wind up meet the home's current owner, Liotta, playing himself. While Mitch is starstruck, the kids have no idea who Liotta is since they haven't seen any of his films. 

Liotta, of course, had a long and prosperous Hollywood career before his "Modern Family" stint, having appeared in such movies as "The Many Saints of Newark," "Field of Dreams," "The Rat Pack," "Cop Land," "Something Wild," "Hannibal," and, in arguably his most memorable performance, Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas." Liotta died in his sleep in May 2022, at the age of 67; the cause of death was eventually determined to be respiratory failure brought about by atherosclerotic disease.

In an interview with NPR's "Fresh Air," conducted shortly after his "Modern Family" appearance, Liotta reflected on the joke centered on the Dunphy kids not recognizing him. Admitting his career had experienced its ups and downs, he admitted, "I like it much better being up." He also admitted that the real thrill he got from acting was taking on projects that challenged him and pushed his growth as an actor. "I really believe that you never stop learning," he said. "And you never really ever get there."

When it came to delivering big laughs in a small role, Fred Willard was the undisputed king. During a career boasting 318 screen credits, Willard was the secret comedy sauce in such films as "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle," and the series of ensemble comedies he made with director Christopher Guest, including "Best in Show," "A Mighty Wind," and "Waiting for Guffman." He also appeared in a jaw-dropping number of television shows, ranging from "The Love Boat," to "Murder, She Wrote," to "Roseanne," to "Friends."

Arguably his most memorable, however, was the recurring "Modern Family" role of Frank Dunphy, quirky father of Ty Burrell's Phil, making 14 appearances throughout the series' 11-season run. In a ironic twist of fate, Frank died on the show in an episode that aired in January 2020. Just four months later, in May, Willard died at the age of 86.

"I loved when I knew I was going to work with Fred, because a day with Fred meant somebody who was always prepared, somebody who was always going to bring extra stuff to the table, somebody who never added drama off-screen. He was just a completely low-maintenance person and somebody who off-screen was really kind and funny," Burrell told Entertainment Weekly after Willard's passing. "Fred didn't create an earnest oblivious character — that has existed for forever — but he perfected it, in my opinion."

David Brenner was no stranger to comedy fans in the 1970s and '80s. A beloved standup comic, Brenner was a talk show staple — and a favorite of Johnny Carson; in fact, he set a record for having more "Tonight Show" appearances under his belt than any other guest — a whopping 158 — and guest-hosted for Carson 75 times. 

In addition to all those talk show appearances, Brenner also dabbled in acting, with just six screen credits. These range from his 1976 sitcom, "Snip" (which was cancelled before it actually aired) to his final acting role, in the 2010 episode of "Modern Family" titled "My Funky Valentine." Brenner's character wasn't much of a stretch, given that he was portraying himself, with the episode featuring Jay (Ed O'Neill) taking Gloria (Sofia Vergara) to see him perform standup comedy. During his routine, Gloria catches Brenner's eye, and he thanks her for bringing her father to the show. When Jay explains that he's her husband, Brenner unleashes a barrage of zingers. "What's it like to be married to someone who was there when the Bible was written?" Brenner asks Gloria. As Brenner continues needling Jay over his age, he becomes increasingly irritated, while Gloria laughs uproariously, until Jay gets up and leaves. 

Brenner was 78 when he died in 2014. As Brenner's publicist told The Hollywood Reporter, his final request was "that $100 in small bills be placed in his left sock 'just in case tipping is recommended where I'm going.'"

Ray Liotta and Barbra Streisand (her voice, at least) weren't the only guest stars to appear in the 2016 "Modern Family" episode titled "Playdates." Gloria (Sofia Vergara) organizes a grown-up "playdate" for her and Jay (Ed O'Neill), with another couple with whom she felt they shared similarities: an octogenarian named Marty (played by Hollywood veteran Orson Bean), who has a much-younger wife and a young son around the same age as Joe, son of Jay and Gloria. 

Bean had an extensive film and television resume prior to "Modern Family," appearing in a vast array of films, ranging from director Otto Preminger's 1959 thriller "Anatomy of a Murder" to the 1999's "Being John Malkovich." Following his "Modern Family" guest spot, Bean booked roles in such TV series as "Teachers," "Superstore," and "Another Period." Bean was also a frequent guest on TV talk shows, making 91 appearances on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show." It was on game shows, however, where Bean really made his mark, appearing in a whopping 931 episode of "To Tell the Truth" during its original run from 1963 to 1969, more than 130 in that show's revival, from 1969 to 1975, and a few more in the 1991 reboot. He was also seen in "Match Game," "Tattletales," and "Super Password."

Bean, who was married to "The Wonder Years" alum Alley Mills, died in 2020 at the age of 91, after being struck by a car while crossing a Los Angeles street.

Actor Jackson Odell first appeared on "Modern Family" in the series' first season, playing Ted Durkas, a student at the school attended by Manny (Rico Rodriguez) and Luke (Nolan Gould). Ted also reappeared in the fourth season, in an episode in which Manny accidentally sets off a school fire alarm and causes all the kids to miss an exam. In addition to "Modern Family," Odell's other screen credits included "iCarly," "The Fosters," "Arrested Development," and "The Goldbergs." Odell was also a singer, songwriter, and musician, who shared his music on his own YouTube channel. 

Odell reportedly struggled with addiction, and was living in a sober living house when he was found dead in 2018 at the age of 20. "The Odell family has lost our beloved son and brother, Jackson Odell, on Friday," Odell's family wrote in a statement posted on what was then known as Twitter. "He will always be a shining light and a brilliant, loving and talented soul [...] We are now going to try to make sense of our immeasurable loss privately. We will not be making anymore statements."

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office determined that Odell's death was an accidental overdose, with tests detecting toxic levels of cocaine and heroin. 

Arguably one of the most beloved characters on "Modern Family" wasn't a human. That would be Stella, the French bulldog who was the apple of Jay's (Ed O'Neill) eye, but barely tolerated by his wife, Gloria (Sophia Vergara). 

Stella was played by canine actor Beatrice, who joined the series in its fourth season. Interestingly, another dog, named Brigitte, originally played Stella, but was replaced after the dog's owner reportedly got into a spat with producers. Beatrice sadly died just weeks after taping the series' final episode.  

According to Beatrice's trainer, Guin Solomon of Good Dog Animals, the dog's rapport with the actors who played her owners mirrored the onscreen relationship with their characters. "Ed O'Neill is in love with her!" Solomon told Bodie on the Road. "It's very easy working with him because he brings Beatrice treats like popcorn and always looks out for her — like we'll be doing scenes in the backyard by the pool and in between takes he'll say, 'Would you please get Beatrice an umbrella, she's in the sun!'" Vergara, on the other hand, is not a dog lover, and her character's standoffish treatment of Stella didn't require much acting. "She's from Colombia so dogs are dirty to her," Solomon explained. "She wasn't that thrilled when Stella was [...] introduced to the show so we respectfully keep our distance!"